Strange Surnames (as in not too common)

[tooironic]

One of my friends mentioned that his mother's last name is 车. Apparently it comes from Russian.

[skylee]

I thought it was a mongolian surname.

[imron]

Possibly even Argentinian

[skylee]

I thought 車 was a mongolian surname.

PS - this is relevant http://www.zwbk.org/...Show/70731.aspx

第十一個淵源：源於蒙古族，出自衛拉特蒙古特楞古德部，屬於漢化改姓爲氏。

　　蒙古族帖良古惕氏，源出蒙古特楞古德部，是衛拉特蒙古的古老部族之一，蒙古史稱爲“帖良古惕”。

　　公元十世紀時，在拜哈勒湖以西的廣大森林，就是帖良古惕部(Telengoutes)、兀兒速惕部(Orassoutes)、客思的迷部(Keschtimis)這三個古老部落的活動區域，皆以傳統醫術聞名於當時。

　　由於“帖良古惕”在歷史上有“Telengoutes”和“Talankut”兩種古通古斯語寫法，因此，也被稱作特楞古德、達楞古特、達郎古德等。

　　公元十五世紀明朝時期，在綽羅斯·也先汗建立瓦剌汗國、稱大元天盛大可汗時，帖良古惕部曾起了極其重要的關鍵作用。明末清初，特楞古德部歸爲新巴爾虎旗，列入蒙古巴爾虎姓氏族群之中。

　　清朝中葉以後，蒙古族帖良古惕氏多冠漢姓爲車氏、鐵氏，車氏漢化讀音作chē(ㄔㄜ)。

[xiaojiang216]

Does this include 复姓？If so, I had a teacher with the surname 颛孙, followed by a two-character given name. 司马 and 诸葛 are fairly well-known, but what about 叔梁 as in 叔梁纥?

[Lu]

Another one:范姜, I've heard of only two people with this name, both in Taiwan. I think the story behind it is someone who took the name of his adopted family out of gratitude and attached it to his own surname.

[roddy]

仇, a new one for me. It's also a bit of a pain in the neck to work with, as the character has two pronunciations, both of which, it seems, can be surnames.

[Baron]

I met a guy whose surname was 郁. I felt sorry for him... 郁闷

[skylee]

There was a very very famous writer called 郁達夫. 郁 has meanings other than 憂鬱 (which is a result of the simplification of characters), so there is nothing to be sorry for people having this surname.

[Baron]

Yes, it was just the conclusion of my English brain. Conversely one colleague used to make snide comments about another's moral character on the basis of his surname, 贾. I found that a bit far fetched.

[roddy]

别 - I didn't know that could be a surname.

[tooironic]

I met a Taiwanese woman with the surname of 门 the other day.

[WestTexas]

I think 靳 is the most uncommon surname I have in my classes this semester.

Also, maybe someone said this, but 解 (pronounced xie4).

[msittig]

Somebody mentioned 诸. One of the administrators at my school is named 诸轶群; since we run an international curriculum, people often poke fun at her by saying her name in the First -> Last western order. Luckily she has a good sense of humor.

[Lu]

Also, maybe someone said this, but 解 (pronounced xie4).

There was a (vice?) minister with this surname (before the last reshuffle).

[Shirley_Chen]

As I remember, there used to be a student in my highschool, his surname was 老...and as I know, someone's surname is 母....Both that even Chinese people hear and scratch their head out.

[tooironic]

So once he's older, people can call him 老老?

[Lu]

I got a side job that involves the Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods. Apart from the fact that it's very cool that such a thing exists, and the unbelievable stories I come across, and the crazy characters they used for their given names (and that I can often not even type), I see some cool surnames. Today's find: 酈. A bit bigger so that people can actually see it: 酈. Never seen this one before.

[geraldinho108]

My middle name is "Tongco", It's my mother's family name. I know that it is from Chinese ancestry because it is not a native Philippine surname. Do you know any history or village with this kind of surname? Based on my research, the root name is probably just "Tong", and the suffix "-co" is an honorific, which was common during the 1800s for Filipino-Chinese. I also think that the origin of this name is probably high from Cantonese-speaking southern towns (i.e. HK, or Macau?)

[roddy]

Just came across 边. 

 

What's the longest sentence you can make with Chinese surnames?